The umbrella body of Nigerian herbalists in Oyo state has pledged support for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over its ongoing nationwide strike.
The leader of the group, Arunoyemi Asanlaye, gave the commitment at a town hall meeting organised by the University of Ibadan, UI, branch of the union.
"We are in support of ASUU on the ongoing strike," he said.
The meeting, which was held at Trenchard Hall, UI, had in attendance, academia, students and members of the public, where update on the four months old strike was discussed.
Nigerian students, who attended the programme in large numbers, called on the striking lecturers to ensure that they achieve their aim before calling it off.
According to them, any compromise without the government acceding to their demands will amount to betrayal.
The students also expressed their displeasure over the failure of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to join the strike and force the Federal Government to implement the 2009 agreement between it and the university teachers.
Also speaking, Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU chairman, UI chapter, said the union would use any method to actualize its demands.
He explained that the struggle was not about the salaries of lecturers but the funding of education in the country.
"We are using so many methods. We cannot tell you when to move to Bodija Market. That is part of our strategies. Instead of begging ASUU, the government should declare a state of Emergency in the education sector," he said.
While responding to the call by the students, Bashir Olanrewaju, the NLC Chairman in Oyo State, informed that the leadership of the congress was cautious about joining the ASUU in a solidarity strike because they did not want to paralyse the nation's entire system.
"By Wednesday, we will come out with a more proactive stance on the strike," he said. "Though, students have called on us to go on strike, we will not go on strike now. We will only mediate. If an affiliate has a problem, joining it in strike will collapse the whole system. We have never been docile about the incident".
A member of ASUU and Professor of English in the university, Remi Raji, admonished the government to look at the NEEDS Assessment report on the decadence in universities across the country and address the issues raised accordingly.
"It is almost a year now that the 169 recommendations had been made and nothing has been done," Mr. Raji said. "Salary of lecturers is just one of the nine demands of ASUU."
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